增值税、加值型营业税是一种消费税，属累退税，是基于商品或服务的增值而征税的一种间接税，在澳大利亚、加拿大、新西兰英文直译为“商品及服务税”，但官方中文翻译多为“消费税”；在日本称作消费税；在新加坡中文称为「消费税」，英文为商品及服务税。增值税征收通常包括生产、流通或消费过程中的各个环节，是基于增值额或价差为计税依据的中性税种，理论上包括农业各个产业领域（种植业、林业和畜牧业）、采矿业、制造业、建筑业、交通和商业服务业等，或者按原材料采购、生产制造、批发、零售与消费各个环节。

增值税是由法国经济学家Maurice Lauré于1954年所发明，目前法国政府有45%的收入来自增值税。增值税通常采用扣税法计税，应纳税额＝销售全值×税率-投入物×税率。

A value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST) is a popular way of implementing a consumption tax in Europe, Japan, and many other countries. All OECD countries except United States have a value-added tax. It differs from the sales tax in that taxes are applied to the difference between the seller-purchased price and the resale price. This is accomplished by taking full tax on all sales, but refunding the tax difference to the sellers.